PANEL: ¡MASH-IT-UP! WE WERE ALWAYS THERE!

BIPoC and FLINTA* Perspectives on 50 Years of Punk

(Deutsche Version unten) Before and Beyond Riot Grrrl: BIPoC and FLINTA* Perspectives on 50 Years of Punk and Its Legacy in Today’s Queer-Feminist Cultural Scene in Berlin and São Paulo Panel language: English The panel “¡MASH-IT-UP! WE WERE ALWAYS THERE! — Before and Beyond Riot Grrrl: BIPoC and FLINTA* Perspectives on 50 Years of Punk and Its Legacy in Today’s Queer-Feminist Cultural Scene in Berlin and São Paulo” will take place at SO36 on 2 October 2026. Marking the 50th anniversary of the international punk movement, the panel brings together musicians and cultural practitioners from São Paulo and Berlin to discuss the historical and contemporary connections between punk, post-punk, feminism and queer cultural spaces. It centres perspectives that have often been overlooked in dominant narratives of punk: the experiences and contributions of FLINTA* people, BIPoC and migrant artists — before, alongside and beyond Riot Grrrl. What roles did women, queer people and BIPoC play in the early punk and post-punk scenes? Why do their stories remain largely invisible in music historiography? What similarities and differences existed between the scenes in São Paulo and Berlin, shaped by their distinct political, social and cultural conditions? And how did punk and post-punk create spaces in which gender roles, sexuality, racism, class and social norms could be challenged? Drawing on the experiences of the Brazilian post-punk pioneers Mercenárias, the discussion will also turn to the present. How does the legacy of punk continue to influence today’s queer-feminist cultural and music networks? What does the do-it-yourself ethos mean today for artists who continue to face structural discrimination and exclusion? How can independent stages, networks and spaces of solidarity be created without reproducing existing power structures within alternative scenes? And what forms of transnational collaboration and mutual support are possible between artists and collectives from the Global South and Europe? The discussion will be moderated by Luanny Tiago da Conceição, formerly of the Berlin Music Commission. The panel features Sandra Coutinho and Mari Crestani, respectively singer and bassist, and guitarist, saxophonist and backing vocalist of the post-punk band Mercenárias from São Paulo; İrem Kara, a Turkish guitarist with the queer-feminist noise-punk and hardcore band Anti-Corpos; Afro-German singer and guitarist Oyèmi Noize of Oyèmi Noize & the Sad Girls; and Afro-Canadian singer Yvonne Ducksworth, known as the frontperson of the former punk and metal band Jingo de Lunch and currently, among other projects, a member of Treedeon. BIOGRAPHIES:

• Luanny Tiago da Conceição (Moderator) Luanny Tiago da Conceição works at the intersections of music, culture and social participation, quietly untangling structures and making things possible. Born in Brazil, she brings a range of perspectives and experiences to her work. She has worked with, among others, the Berlin Music Commission and Piranha Arts, and was involved with the former Musicboard advisory board as well as Music Women Germany. Her focus lies on diversity, social equity and sustainable structures. She currently serves as project lead for 48h Jenfeld.
• Sandra Coutinho (Mercenárias) Sandra Coutinho is a composer, bassist, singer and one of the defining figures of Brazilian post-punk. In 1982 she founded Mercenárias in São Paulo, whose radical, minimalist sound and uncompromising stance have left a lasting mark on Brazil's alternative music scene. As the band's bassist, singer and artistic director, Sandra has been — and remains — a central force behind one of the most influential formations of the Brazilian underground. Albums such as Cadê as Armas? and Trashland are now considered reference works of Brazilian post-punk; in 1988, Sandra was voted Bassist of the Year by the music magazine BIZZ. Mercenárias have also been rediscovered and reissued internationally. After years in Germany's experimental music scene, Sandra returned to Brazil and reactivated the band, with whom she remains active to this day, continuing to influence new generations of musicians.
• Mari Crestani (Mercenárias) Mari Crestani is an artist and multi-instrumentalist firmly rooted in São Paulo's independent and underground music scene. As a transmasculine, non-binary person, he moves naturally between different musical forms of expression and instruments — guitar, drums, saxophone and bass. Mari currently plays in Mercenárias, one of Brazil's most important post-punk bands, with whom he will travel to Berlin in October. Throughout his career he has also been part of, or worked with, projects such as Pullovers, Pink Opake, Anvil Fx and The Human Trash, where he was active as singer and guitarist. He also pursues more experimental projects such as Bloody Mary Una Chica Band and the queer improvisation collective Enchante. In the audiovisual field, too, Mari has worked independently for years — including editing, video production, sound design and composing music for artistic productions and advertising campaigns. His work brings together music, image and a spirit of experimentation, making him a versatile, independent voice in São Paulo's cultural scene.
• Yvonne Ducksworth (Treedeon) Afro-Canadian Yvonne Ducksworth turned up in Berlin, Kreuzberg, via New York and New Orleans in 1983. Currently the bassist and singer for the Berlin band Treedeon (Sludge/Noise/Metal/Doom), she sang in the band Jingo de Lunch for over 25 years. She was in the Berlin film “Trouble” by Penelope Buitenhuis and was a VIVA TV presenter for “Metalla” back in the day. She reads lots of books, goes to museums, is vegan for the animals, and her favorite color is silver glitter on black.
• Oyèmi Noize (Oyèmi Noize & the Sad Girls) Oyèmi Noize, born in 1990 in Thuringia and raised in Saxony, is an Afro-German artist, musician, activist and cultural practitioner based in Berlin. She has been active in various band projects across metal, punk, grunge, rock, indie and pop since 2006, and has lived in Berlin since 2016. Her musical projects include the future/noise-pop band Jaguwar, with whom she has performed at SXSW in Austin, Reeperbahn Festival and c/o Pop Festival, among others. Since 2021 she has also been pursuing a bedroom-pop solo project. Her artistic and activist work engages with Black identity, growing up in East Germany, mental health, and the question of how to escape outside gazes, expectations and projections and tell one's own story. She is the founder of Decolonoize Berlin, a collective that connects and increases the visibility of BIPoC in alternative music scenes such as punk, metal, grunge and indie, and creates spaces for exchange, empowerment and community. Since 2022 she has also worked as a music photographer under the pseudonym noheroes.jpg, documenting the alternative scene in Berlin and Germany with a focus on marginalized people on stage.
• İrem Kara (Anti-Corpos) İrem Kara is a Turkish-German musician, guitarist and songwriter who has been active since 2011, releasing several albums and building a body of work firmly rooted in the underground, noise and heavy music scenes. Over the years she has written songs and played guitar for Nervöus, Hoarse and Anti-Corpos, touring internationally through scenes across Europe, Brazil, Japan and beyond. When she started making music, İrem Kara was among the few femme-presenting guitarists carving out space in scenes heavily dominated by cis men. With her distinctive guitar playing, unmistakable riffs, presence and attitude, she made clear that heavy music by no means belongs exclusively to cis male musicians. Deeply connected to Berlin's punk and queer scene, her musical path is closely tied to underground culture, collective spaces and DIY politics. Her experience spans countries, bands and communities, reflecting a long-standing commitment to independent music and to the people who keep these scenes alive.

Before and Beyond Riot Grrrl: BIPoC and FLINTA* Perspectives on 50 Years of Punk and Its Legacy in Today’s Queer-Feminist Cultural Scene in Berlin and São Paulo Podiumssprache: englisch Das Panel „¡MASH-IT-UP! WE WERE ALWAYS THERE! — Before and Beyond Riot Grrrl: BIPoC and FLINTA* Perspectives on 50 Years of Punk and Its Legacy in Today’s Queer-Feminist Cultural Scene in Berlin and São Paulo“ findet am 2. Oktober 2026 im SO36 statt. Anlässlich des 50-jährigen Jubiläums der internationalen Punkbewegung bringt das Panel Musikerinnen und Kulturakteurinnen aus São Paulo und Berlin zusammen, um die historischen und gegenwärtigen Verbindungen zwischen Punk, Post-Punk, Feminismus und queeren Kulturräumen zu diskutieren. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei Perspektiven, die in den gängigen Erzählungen über Punk häufig übergangen werden: die Erfahrungen und Beiträge von FLINTA*-Personen, BIPoC und migrantischen Künstlerinnen – vor, neben und über Riot Grrrl hinaus. Welche Rolle spielten Frauen, queere Personen und BIPoC bereits in den frühen Punk- und Post-Punk-Szenen? Warum sind ihre Geschichten in der Musikgeschichtsschreibung bis heute häufig unsichtbar? Welche Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede gab es zwischen den Szenen in São Paulo und Berlin – unter den jeweils unterschiedlichen politischen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Bedingungen? Und wie haben Punk und Post-Punk Räume geschaffen, in denen Geschlechterrollen, Sexualität, Rassismus, Klassenzugehörigkeit und gesellschaftliche Normen infrage gestellt werden konnten? Ausgehend von den Erfahrungen der brasilianischen Post-Punk-Pionierinnen Mercenárias richtet sich der Blick zugleich auf die Gegenwart: Wie wirkt das Erbe des Punk in heutigen queer-feministischen Kultur- und Musiknetzwerken fort? Was bedeutet die Do-it-yourself-Idee heute für Künstler*innen, die weiterhin mit struktu